maximizing medal chances over "fairness". Allows the three selected to plan their season around the games rather than earning selection. if my job was to maximize the number of medals the team gets i think i would do the same.

Not seen this reported anywhere other than the Daily Mail yet so I'm taking it with a pinch of salt until it's confirmed by a more reputable source.

As good as Stanford is, it's been quite a while since she won her World Championship and she's not as consistent as Vicky H.

IMO they are taking the right 3 ladies

Brit Tri have confirmed

I think weve chosen someone who can reliably come 3rd or 4th over racers who can win but may come 20th.

Stanford consistently beat Holland last year (including an overall win), with the exception being a DNF at the Grand Final...

I remember Holland winning the series in 2018 and getting 3rd in the Olympics.

I really like Non, i just don't think she can get the job done.

Do you have a link? Still not seen anything apart from that Daily Mail piece

But why have selection criteria if they're not used?

2016 (Rio) and 2018 were a long time ago really. Not like Vicky was an up and comer in Rio, isn't she pushing mid 30's, age performance decline and all that is a natural phenomena not taken into account by selectors here. Georgia and Jess definately deserve to be on the team, Non has had a win this last season, and with relay team coming into consideration I would have thought Coldwell may have had a shot as well. I get the time to prepare idea but they would all been in the same boat. ,

Non is coming off of surgery for a major injury, so her rad back would be a gamble for selectors... for most other countries, they would take that gamble, but with GB's depth they don't have to... That said, I am not surprised at the configuration, I had hoped that Coldwell might make the team, not because she was a podium threat in the individual race, but because she could light up the MTR (and frankly has been a lot more consistent than Learmonth in that discipline). Vicky Holland is a safe choice, she's medaled at the olympics, she was World Champion a season ago, and is always there or thereabouts in the WTS. GTB is a no brainer, she's always right there, and might be the one person not named Duffy who can crack Katie Z on the run... Surprised they picked this early though, given that the season hasn't started yet, and they have a few months to see if someone comes out guns blazing this year... The biggest rationale for Vicky over Non is really the return of Flora... Vicky holds her own on the swim, so she can usually make the first chase group and have a shot, Non is usually further back down, and with Flora fire-power in a swim break, her prospects are a lot lower of being able to run down a podium (her only ticket would be to hope that Spirig is on and hitch a ride up)...

As much as I despise the Daily Mail, their readership and everything they stand-for, I believe their sports journalism exclusives are generally fairly accurate... unlike the rest of the bollocks that they espouse.

Good break down and agree with all that, bit shit being in the British Triathlon squad as a female, mad strength in depth this time round.

Really surprised they've made the decision this early, Non must be devistated although she never really showed her pre Rio or World championship form last year.

I don't think Stimpson expected to be picked or Coldwell.

There isn't an easy way of making that decision, other than waiting till the selection race and letting them duke it out. We have seen what making athletes wait too long to qualify does for their ability to produce at the Olympics. Look at Katie Z for Rio, disaster. Get the slots picked early, let them train and be prepared.

This is just my opinion, I don't see Holland or Stanford being in the medal hunt in Tokyo. The way that the front of the women's race has formed doesn't favor those two. The chances of Tokyo for the women being what the Rio/London was for the men is very high. A small select group (Flora, 2x GB women, Katie Z, Spivey) and then see who runs the best. The men at Tokyo will be different, a 10k run.

---

Inside The Big Ring: Podcast & Coaching

Agree with you. As much as this sucks for Non and potentially others such as Coldwell, it's smart of the British to nail down the team so early.
In contrast, the US women are all in on training to peak for the early season races to demonstrate their form and/or in the hopes of a podium in Yokohama... but that strategy could leave them flat for the Tokyo race a few months later!

BTF were pretty happy to pick Helen Jenkins in 2012 despite being a perpetual sick-note in the year or so before (and right into that omympics) - maybe BECAUSE she had the ability to win if on her A game (which it panned out to not have been and propably was very unlikely to have been).

Whether that experience (ie it backfired) tempers the selection approach to go Steady-Eddie for a reliable VH i don't know.
They seem to take a different approach to the Men's than the Womens selections for some reason. The men's has been 2x Brownlees guarantee + a swim/biker domestique 2012 and 2016.
Why not the same with a fast swimmer to disrupt the game ?
Otherwise like 2016 and many ITUs in the Gwen period it becomes a race for 3rd place having given up 1st and 2nd before the gun went off.

I think Vicky had a bit of a hangover season after winning the World title last year, she's a big race racer which is why I'd have chosen her as the 3rd.

I'm getting the early shout in for GTB for Gold, was thinking this all last year.

Its possible. What we saw from Learmonth and Taylor Brown last season was super impressive.

ABrownlee 3 peats? :)

---

Inside The Big Ring: Podcast & Coaching

I'm not ruling Learmoth out, she took her run to another level last year, if she can bring that on another level again she's going to start taking these 2nd and 3rd places to 1st.